# Re: Why can't you buy turkey eggs in stores? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [August 21, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-cant-you-buy-turkey-eggs-in-stores/696123 "2014-08-21T18:50:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Brother\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_brother_1/32/3513_2.png) [@Little\_Brother\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Brother_1)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-cant-you-buy-turkey-eggs-in-stores/696123/1 "2014-08-21T18:50:56Z")
This may have been a burning question in March, 1998, but I have a newer burning question of my own. Admittedly this is off the top of my head, but it seems to me that there’s been a “boom” in turkey-based products in recent decades because the Nutritionist Cabal flogs turkey as a substitute for beef. For instance, in the 1980s my “eating well” fanatic girlfriend had to go to a certain distant farmers’ market to buy ground turkey meat; now it’s commonplace. Consider: 1) turkey meat is abundant; 2) chicken salad and chicken soup remain popular “prepared foods”-- a local deli/grocery offers a few different varieties of each. So my question is why one doesn’t see turkey _salad_ on the shelf, or as a deli menu item, e.g. turkey salad hoagies (as we say in these parts) or sandwiches? Turkey soup turns up, but not turkey salad. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it, or had it, but it seems yummy in theory. Perhaps the answer is that there’s not much demand for it-- maybe it’s perceived as too much like post-Thanksgiving leftovers. But that’s not much of an answer, because we all know that producers create demand, not just passively satisfy consumer demands. (This may be a tangent to the “Does Marketing Work?” article.) So: Why can’t you buy turkey _salad_ in stores? * * * LINK TO COLUMN: [Why can’t you buy turkey eggs in stores? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1262/why-cant-you-buy-turkey-eggs-in-stores) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-cant-you-buy-turkey-eggs-in-stores/696123/2 "2014-08-21T19:06:04Z")
Well, they don’t travel well. ---
**Author:** ![PorchePine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@PorchePine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorchePine)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-cant-you-buy-turkey-eggs-in-stores/696123/3 "2014-08-21T19:34:33Z")
One of the local stores here has often has turkey salad in the deli. They also sell roast turkey breast (right next to the whole roasted chickens), so one would assume they make leftover turkey breast into salad instead of throwing it out. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-cant-you-buy-turkey-eggs-in-stores/696123/4 "2014-08-22T16:08:56Z")
> [@Little\_Brother\_1](#): > > Why can’t you buy turkey _salad_ in stores? Probably because Turkey tends to be fairly dry compared to chicken. Even well prepared turkey dries out after a few days - not something you want for shelf stable meat salad. There are lots of turkey products (turkey pastrami, hotdogs, salami, etc.) around. But, these products can be processed to add fat and moisture, and to improve _mouth feel_. I suspect that turkey is used instead of chicken in many of these products because of it’s tougher texture that makes it easier to handle. Of course, by the time they finish making that turkey product edible, it contains all of the fat, calories, and whatnot that people were trying to avoid when they didn’t buy the beef version. But, it’s turkey, so it’s better for you! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-cant-you-buy-turkey-eggs-in-stores/696123/5 "2014-08-22T16:47:26Z")
We live near a turkey farm that has a small store. One of my favorite products they sell is a faux ham salad made with smoked turkey. It is delicious, but a little pricey compared with chicken salad. [Pounds Turkey Farm products](http://www.poundsturkeyfarm.com/Turkey-Product-Guide.html) ---
**Author:** ![eastcheap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@eastcheap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eastcheap)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-cant-you-buy-turkey-eggs-in-stores/696123/6 "2014-08-23T04:01:01Z")
> [@qazwart](#): > > Probably because Turkey tends to be fairly dry compared to chicken. Well, yes, but, as a rule, commercially prepared chicken- and tuna salad are made with ungodly amounts of mayonnaise. I don’t see how using turkey would be all that different. Except, maybe, that’ it’s not very good. It’s not as though chicken salad is anything to write home about. And I _like_ chicken salad. As someone who’s eaten loads of duck eggs (and who, frankly, wouldn’t pay for the damn things), the egg question is more interesting to me. Apart from anything else, are turkey eggs tasty? Or are they sort of rubbery and bland? > [@](#): > > There are lots of turkey products (turkey pastrami, hotdogs, salami, etc.) around. All of which taste vaguely metallic to me. I just don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-cant-you-buy-turkey-eggs-in-stores/696123/7 "2014-08-24T21:32:10Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > We live near a turkey farm that has a small store. One of my favorite products they sell is a faux ham salad made with smoked turkey. It is delicious, but a little pricey compared with chicken salad. [Pounds Turkey Farm products](http://www.poundsturkeyfarm.com/Turkey-Product-Guide.html) The Turkey as a faux ham makes sense to me. You can process turkey to have the texture of ham – especially if you add nitrates to it. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-cant-you-buy-turkey-eggs-in-stores/696123/8 "2014-08-24T21:48:48Z")
> [@eastcheap](#): > > Well, yes, but, as a rule, commercially prepared chicken- and tuna salad are made with ungodly amounts of mayonnaise. I don’t see how using turkey would be all that different. Except, maybe, that’ it’s not very good. So, what would be the advantage of using turkey? You need more mayo and it might not be very good. Turkey isn’t cheaper than chicken, so you’re not saving any money, and “turkey salad” isn’t going to be a big seller vs. the more familiar “chicken salad”. Turkey’s texture makes it a good replacement for ham and beef cold cuts. You process the turkey – especially with nitrates, and who can tell what type of meat it was. Turkey is thought of as “healthier” than beef and pork, but it’s not thought of as a healthy substitute for chicken. Turkey salad has a lot of downside and not much upside. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-cant-you-buy-turkey-eggs-in-stores/696123/9 "2014-08-24T23:27:55Z")
[Why we don’t eat turkey eggs](http://www.slate.com/articles/life/explainer/2012/11/why_don_t_we_eat_turkey_eggs_the_differences_among_chicken_duck_goose_and.html)